It’s 2024 and something nearly every client or individual I interact with is present to is the U.S. election. It’s hard not to be. Whether you’re a news junkie or the average social media scroller, you likely see or hear something about campaign season at least once a day (not to mention the dozens of political texts you may get every week). If you’re a senior leader of an organization, there are likely significant implications of this election cycle that will affect your strategy and your bottom line. Less obviously, it’s also likely affecting your culture.
If we look at our culture at large, Americans don’t seem to view election years positively. In fact, most dread it. There’s a mood of fear, cynicism, combativeness, frustration, and anger that’s nearly inescapable. It’s impacting our day-to-day lives, our work environment, and our outlook on the future. And the worst part – none of it feels like it’s within our control.
Here’s the hard truth: while things like the form and function of our government are out of reach, how deep and lasting the impact of this cultural and political division is entirely within our control.
When news of the assassination attempt this past weekend arrived and I saw how deeply it affected clients and friends (republicans, democrats, and no-party-preference folks alike), I decided to write this article. There were reactions I was expecting and many I didn’t expect, stemming from deeply human concerns and sometimes deeply personal stories. This moment feels to me like an opportunity – will we see one another as human beings, with things we all deeply care about and fear, worthy of respect? Or will we double down on our perspective at the cost of our country, our relationships, and our personal and collective peace? This doesn’t end in November. It ends when we all collectively decide that this way of engaging with our fellow human beings isn’t worth the cost.
We are now living in a world that values certainty over curiosity, as if any lapse in confidence of one’s position on any given topic would signal weakness or a lack of credibility. Unfortunately, this is only driving us further and further apart, and all we do is point the finger across party lines or at people in positions of power.
This is no longer just about who our next president will be. We are more defensive, more pessimistic, and less trusting of the people we interact with every day. We’re less likely to talk to strangers and more likely to seek out affinity, forming relationships with those we share similar values with. The algorithms reigning what we consume and are exposed to are curated to our existing preferences, not an expansion of our knowledge or understanding. We’re conditioned to both consciously and unconsciously look for evidence that our personal view is the right one (and we’re arrogant enough to think there is such a thing).
As mentioned, I personally have people close to me that sit firmly in both camps, and even more that have stopped engaging in political process or conversation at all because of how extreme the polarization has become. More people I engage with don’t feel well represented by either party. They don’t want to be part of such a painfully immature war. Younger generations aren’t being incentivized to take part in civic (and civil) discourse, because it isn’t being modeled for them. What is being modeled for them is a way of engaging with difference and resolving conflict that’s not only disheartening, but dysfunctional. That doesn’t bode well for our future, as they will have to deal with an increasingly complex world and singular, unchecked, immovable perspectives aren’t going to cut it.
Walking down the street or driving our cars, if we see a sign, hat, t-shirt, or flag committing support to one side or the other we’ve already decided who that person is. We’ve never spoken to them, know nothing about where they’ve come from or what they actually believe, but we’ve decided whether or not they’re worthy of our curiosity or regard based on our assumption about what that symbol says about them.
We’re afraid to talk to people that may think differently because we expect conflict, but maybe that avoidance is only leading to further weakening of the muscles we need to reach across our differences and, in that discomfort, learn something new.
We blame everyone else but ourselves. But I have to ask – have you, with respect and genuine curiosity, asked someone across the proverbial “aisle” why they believe what they believe and really listened? Have you been willing to have your understanding influenced? When you make that snap judgment on the street, have you stopped to notice that bias and then simply said “hello”? Have you read or listened to content from a seemingly opposing source without immediately discrediting it?
I’m not saying you have to be willing to change your personal values and belief system. I’m suggesting you consider including in those values a respect for human beings and their stories, and in your belief system a faith that there is always more to learn and always a path through the discomfort of difference.
My father and I delivered a TEDx Talk on the crisis of human connection we face today, and in that talk, he recalled wisdom he’d been offered that impacted his life: “Every villain is a hero in their own story. Find that story.” Most of us have stopped trying to find that story, sure that we know all we need to, or that a discovery of something new would be itself an existential threat. That fear, while very real for most of us, is largely unfounded. It’s like we don’t trust ourselves to calmly and with poise stand for what we believe in while making room for another to do the same. Well, we sure won’t be able to if we don’t ever practice it.
We each have power to cause more connection and understanding in the world. We don’t have to wait on our political system to change or for one side to admit defeat. Don’t let their example infect the rest of our lives. It starts with how we interact with every person we come across every day. Do we meet them with judgment? With defensiveness? Do we see them as a threat, or someone to learn from? Do we appreciate their unique perspective and stories, or do we think we have the right to discredit them?
If someone is resistant or defensive in reaction to you, it’s likely because they feel threatened, or at a minimum don’t feel heard, respected, or seen for who they are and why they might believe what they believe. Instead of pushing back harder, try asking a question. Be the person who offers a surprising gift of curiosity and understanding in a world they expect to judge and misunderstand them.
We will not solve the greatest challenges our world faces today through a war of opinion. If we can learn from one another – get a more full and accurate picture of how the world really works and what opportunities we really have to shift things – we can find paths forward we never could have imagined from our own isolated camps. Without being influenced by others, we can’t evolve. And if we aren’t evolving, we’re dying.
Most importantly, remember that your willingness to try this different way of engaging has implications far beyond your own life. It affects all the people around you, and their ability to hope for a different future. How we choose to show up is infectious and will ripple throughout the system of interaction we live in and become our culture.
Americans have a privileged position in the world, one we often take for granted. We are seen by many countries to be an “interventionist power,” and whether or not you agree U.S. intervention abroad over the last 248 years is justified, that role has led us to a time where what happens here has impact far beyond our borders.
Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media, delivers a “Top Risks” report annually, meant to outline the most significant global threats and opportunities year-to-year. For 2024, his #1 global risk was “The US vs. Itself”. In short, how we react to this era of political dissonance, as individuals and as a collective, affects the world.
Whoever you vote for come November, I ask that you remember that every day, in every interaction, you are voting for more division or more peace and understanding. Approach life and those you meet with curiosity, and I promise not only will you feel happier and more satisfied with your life, but you’re giving other people (and the world) that chance, too.
